The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has decided to split the job of its chief executive and chairman. It said today it is naming Bill Etherington to the position of non-executive chairman, with John Hunkin continuing to serve as CEO.

A recommendation to the bank’s board to separate the two positions was put forward in June and a special committee appointed to manage the selection process for the non-executive chair role. Etherington’s appointment to the position was unanimously approved at today’s regular board meeting.

“Having established the lead director role almost three years ago, I strongly believe that moving to a non-executive chairman structure represents a logical evolution for CIBC,” Hunkin said in a statement.

The bank said at its annual meeting in February that it planned to examine its governance in the context of emerging best practices. “Bill has a passionate interest in corporate governance issues, which is particularly relevant given his new responsibilities,” Hunkin said.

Etherington, 61, and former senior executive with the IBM Corp., is currently chair of the bank’s corporate governance committee. He said his focus as chairman “will be on keeping CIBC in a leadership position on governance issues, with the ultimate objective of delivering superior value for our shareholders, customers and employees.”

CIBC joins the Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, Laurentian Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank in separating the two senior functions. Bank of Nova Scotia has said it would split the role when its chairman and CEO Peter Godsoe retires.